Blog
March 05, 2013
It seems that in many Western societies, one of the first things people do when they find out they’re expecting is to look at strollers, baby carriers, bassinets, anything that will hold your child for you. Yet, most people don’t realize that there is another way to keep your little ones with you, a way that is far superior in many regards and will also be much cheaper: babywearing.
Historically, and in many other cultures today, strollers and other baby carrying gadgets are simply not used. Babies are wrapped and strapped to their caregiver to get around when their own two legs can’t take them. Though some might argue that there’s no difference, or that our modern inventions are more convenient, I would like to argue that there are actually good reasons to wear your baby. So here I present what I believe to be are five of the best reasons to wear your baby…
Reason #1: Babywearing allows for lots of touch
Sadly, infants and children are not receiving the amount of touch
February 25, 2013
From: Documenting Delight, Images for Ergobaby
Here at Ergobaby, we love it when our partners are also fans. So when we needed to create some images, we contacted Georgia at Documenting Delight. Not only is Georgia an acclaimed photographer, she's also a fan, so we were thrilled when she agreed to photograph some images for us. She has shared them in a recent post and not only are they beautiful, but joyful and funny (as evidenced by her hamming-it-up-husband above!). We think she's perfectly captured the spirit of Ergobaby: joyful, spirited, adventurous, loving and free.
Please head over to her site for a sneak
February 06, 2013
I can’t believe we are entering the second month of 2013 already! I am among the many people who welcomed the new year by re-examining their hopes and goals for the upcoming year - and just like so many others - that included my health and fitness. I’m an urban mama and that means that I travel on foot a lot. I walk everyday! I take the kids to music class, the library, the playground and the grocery store. Still, all that walking isn’t always getting my heartrate up. What we do usually resembles more of a leisurely stroll than a brisk powerwalk (unless we are running to catch the bus, then it’s a comical sprint). So, at the beginning of this year I decided that I was going to try to make all those steps count by trying to take them a little more quickly and deliberately. I’m hoping this makes them a better workout that naturally fits into my life - and maybe I’ll even end up with some extra minutes for myself since I’m shaving time off my commute.
Now, nearly a month into this
February 04, 2013
I'm in the third trimester now with baby number two, and I've started to put a lot of thought into preparing for this new little one. Even though my first daughter, Violet, is only two-and-a-half, it's amazing how quickly you forget about what things are needed/helpful in caring for an infant. When we were pregnant the first time around, we had no clue what to register for. Our registry was largely based on the recommendations of our friends and family who had already had babies. Based on our experience with Violet, here are a few things that would be a must on my registry if I did it all over again:
1. A Video Monitor: With Violet we only used the traditional sound monitor, but if I could do it again I would have chosen a video monitor for sure. After we moved her into her nursery at around three months, I so missed being able to watch her while she was sleeping. Those sweet sleep smiles are so precious and the time is so short! For the new baby I am thrilled that we
January 10, 2013
Ergobaby Zebra by ergobaby
Plein Sud Jeanius turtle neck sweater, $80 / Slim jeans / London Rebel
January 07, 2013
Dear Matthew,
This is the story of your birth, from my perspective as your parents doula:
Contractions started early Friday morning, about 1:30am. After a bit your mommy woke your daddy up and then called me around 3am. I was so excited to hear you were on your way! I told your mommy to try to sleep as much as possible to save her energy and to call me when she wanted me to come. Around 4:45am your mommy called me back. She had some bloddy show and was too uncomfortable to sleep - every time she did get comfortable, a contraction would start. I packed up my stuff and started for your house.
I arrived about 6am. Desty barked when I knocked on the door which woke up your daddy. Your mommy was doing a great job coping with the contractions. She learned on the birth ball, or got on her hands and knees while using deep relaxed breathing. I rubbed her back a little bit and hooked up the TENS unit for her to use. We relaxed in the living room watching the news and patiently waiting for
December 20, 2012
Earlier this month, our Ergobaby "Elves" were thrilled to be a part of Santa’s Secret Workshop presented by Bill Horn and Scout Masterson. We got to mingle with fans and all for a good cause! In the giving spirit of the holidays, the event benefited L.A. Family Housing, whose mission is to help families transition out of homelessness and poverty through a continuum of housing enriched with supportive services.
[caption id="attachment_4744" align="aligncenter" width="819"] A lovely pregnant Malin Akerman
December 13, 2012
Dinner. Dishwashing. Christmas cookies. And … cue the chaos!
My days were going something like this:
Hold baby on hip and collect bowls one-handed. Perform world record juggling act that will never be recorded.
Switch baby to other hip and get ingredients from the pantry. Take two trips because I can’t carry them all at once.
Put baby in bouncy seat to rummage through freezer.
Soothe baby’s crying. Back to the freezer. Pick baby back up.
Attempt to hold baby while cracking eggs into bowl. Wipe up spilled egg.
Hold baby and bowl with one hand while stirring with other. Wipe up spilled batter.
Put baby down to spoon doughballs onto cookie sheets. Put baby’s binky back in about eighty-seven times.
And on. And on. Cookie baking was quickly becoming a world-class mess. And dinner prep was taking forever and it was just quesadillas!
I needed a new recipe for cooking with a baby in the house!
I was missing the main ingredient – my baby
December 07, 2012
I see scary carseat/shopping cart situations all the time. I know you must see it too. Perhaps you're even in the habit of placing your baby’s carseat on top of the cart when you’re shopping.
Way back in the late 90's when my oldest son was a toddler, I saw a woman's baby fall off the cart at the drug store. I can still remember the sound that kid's head made when it hit the floor. She scooped him up and ran out with him while the store manager ran out after her. I don't know what happened after that but I remember being horrified by what I had just seen (and heard). That experience stayed with me and from that day on I have always been super-conscious about how my kids were secured in shopping carts. However, I am obviously in the minority because far too often I witness dangerous shopping cart situations. Sometimes I'll say something - in the nicest way I can, of course. But giving unsolicited advice to strangers can be more dangerous than playing in New Delhi traffic, so usually I
November 29, 2012
The number of LGBT parents in this country is growing – and many people in the LGBT community have become parents through adoption. When looking into adoption as a path to parenthood LGBT people examine the same choices as straight parents do: domestic agencies, international adoption, foster care with possibility to adopt. The difference is that the legalities of same-sex couples adopting varies state to state with some states passing legislation prohibiting same-sex couples from petitioning jointly to adopt a child. These obstacles prevent kids in need being paired with loving homes. The good news is that more and more people are realizing that LGBT people can make wonderful parents and as public opinion changes, so will the laws - opening the doors for more kids to find a stable, loving and permanent home.
My partner and I decided I would carry and birth our two children – yet adoption is still a part of our parenting story - because we are lesbians. Even though we both equally wished